Massachusetts-based Konarka Technologies, Inc, a company with
a healthy history of commercial experience, developed
and demonstrated a commercial-grade process for printing cells on
inkjet printers. All quips about inkjet cartridge costs aside,
the new process holds tremendous potential to revolutionize the solar
photovoltaic industry.

Typical photovoltaics require a clean
room to maintain the delicate manufacturing conditions necessary in
order to carry out silicon spin coating and other steps in the
manufacturing process. These clean rooms are extremely
expensive to build and maintain. While traditional
photovoltaics can be profitable, Konarka's inkjet phtovoltaics
promise to dramatically lower their cost, making solar power
suddenly very competitive in terms of energy production per
installation cost. Better yet, it will likely reduce the time
it takes to produce the cells and allow for easier expansion of
capacity.

Rick Hess, president and CEO, states, "Demonstrating
the use of inkjet printing technology as a fabrication tool for
highly efficient solar cells and sensors with small area requirements
is a major milestone. This essential breakthrough in the field
of printed solar cells positions Konarka as an emerging leader in
printed photovoltaics."

The new solar cells use an
organic bulk heterojunction, as opposed to the non-organic designs of
traditional solar cells. The new organic-ink has the advantage
of being deposited easily on a number of different substrates, unlike
traditional inorganic semiconductor doping which can only be applied
easily to a limited number of inorganic semiconductors. Konarka
looks to deploy this technology in what it calls Power Plastic®
-- flexible plastic power producing sheets. One intriguing
feature of the plastics is that Konarka can offer flexible plastic
solar panels with printed patterns -- such as bricks or camouflage,
which although taking a slight hit on efficiency, could be an
intriguing prospect for non-intrusive installation. The
military already has contracted the company to build a series of
camouflaged power-generating buildings.

Konarka plans on
marketing the new tech to power
laptops, cell phones, and more. The solar cells work with
the full spectrum of visible light, so they can be charged indoors,
not just in sunlight. Konarka advertises that a sheet not much
bigger than a couple pieces of notebook paper could charge a laptop,
when you're on the go.

While Konarka still has to prove itself
before maintaining a place among the greats of alternative energy,
its process sure seems innovative. If the company is a success,
perhaps in a couple years the solution to the energy crisis will be
as simple a print job away.

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